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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27124180">Fire and Ice</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaBear7319/pseuds/MamaBear7319'>MamaBear7319</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Happier, Friendlier Timeline (2014) [14]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>2014 timeline, Gen, Irondad, spiderson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:42:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,947</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27124180</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaBear7319/pseuds/MamaBear7319</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of arsons grab Peter’s attention.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Happier, Friendlier Timeline (2014) [14]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934734</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Playing With Fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter leaned back on the sofa, PlayStation controller in hand. Bobby wouldn't be done with his make up final for another hour. Peter had finished both of his that morning. So far, none of his professors had made a big deal over the fact that he was Tony Stark's son. It was a relief. He just hoped it continued.</p><p> Most of his group was already back in town so they had planned on heading to the Odyssey when Bobby was done. Peter just hoped they let him back in. He wasn't sure how great it was that they had gotten so much press. Hopefully it had been long enough that things had died down a little.</p><p>Peter looked at the clock on the wall. He had lost track of time playing online with Ned, Bucky, and Sam. Bobby should have been back almost an hour ago. Turning off the PlayStation he picked up his phone and sent Bobby a text.  <em>"Where are you?"</em></p><p>A few minutes later a picture came through of a building completely engulfed in flames. <em> "The roads are blocked. Although I think they're about to start letting people through. I should be back soon."</em></p><p>Peter looked at the picture. At home, he probably would have been in the middle of things. He had pulled people out of fires more than a couple times. After the first time, they had made his normal suits fireproof. Now, the Iron Spider was definitely fireproof. But, it would be weird if Spider-Man showed up in Boston, so until he could come up with a cover he was stuck more or less on the sidelines. And he hated it.</p><p>Curious, he started looking online about the fire. Turned out that it was only the latest in a series of fires. Some just chalked it up to cold weather and issues with space heaters or faulty heating systems. Others were starting to think they were deliberate. He was still reading through articles and had asked Karen to dig in when Bobby walked into the living room.</p><p>"Ok, that was a nightmare." Bobby threw himself on the other sofa.</p><p>Peter looked up from his tablet. "The final or the fire."</p><p>"Both. What are you doing?"</p><p>Peter put the tablet down on the sofa. "Reading about the fire...actually it's fires...plural...this was the forth one since mid December that they think may actually be arson."</p><p>Bobby frowned. "That's not good. The building today was an apartment building. Luckily most of the people who live there are students and aren't back yet. Do they have any suspects?"</p><p>Peter shook his head. "No." He followed it with a sigh. "I wish there was a way that I could be Spider-Man here without blowing my identity."</p><p>Bobby furrowed his brows. "So you can swing into a burning building? You know they have fire fighters trained just for that type of situation."</p><p>"Yeah, but most fire fighters don't have super strength, enhanced senses, and the ability to heal. If I go in, they don't have to."</p><p>Bobby shook his head. "You're an adrenaline junkie. I've seen some of the stuff you do." He looked down at the pictures on the tablet. "But, you have a point. Any idea what to do about it?"</p><p>Peter frowned and shook his head. "Not yet." Reaching down he turned off the tablet. "Let's head out. I'm starving."</p><p>XXXXXXXXXX</p><p>Peter trailed Bobby into The Odyssey. He wasn't sure what to expect. He had texted Gwen a couple times over the break and she had always still seemed a little mad. He hadn't talked to Wyatt or Johnny at all. Bobby kept telling him that absolutely no one cared that he was Tony Stark's son. He hoped he was right. He saw the table Bobby was headed for and realized it was just Wyatt and Johnny. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or not that Gwen wasn't there yet.</p><p>Wyatt grinned up at him. "Sit down Parker. As retribution for not looping us in you're buying tonight."</p><p>Peter dropped into a chair. "That I can do." He glanced over at Johnny who didn't seem phased at all.</p><p>"Parker, you need to work on your interview skills. Sue said she could tell you had been prepped." Johnny took a sip of his beer. "I, on the other hand, thought you actually did a good job for it being your first major interview."</p><p>Peter groaned. "You mean people actually watched that?" He still did not understand why people would be interested in the lives of others. He could somewhat understand if it had been something about the Avengers. Idolizing hero's was one thing. He understood why people wanted to take pictures with Spider-Man and was more than happy to accommodate. The fascination with his home life was something totally different.</p><p>"Sue loves stuff like that so I was watching it simply because she had it on. When she and Reed got married the press was everywhere. It sucked at first but you do get used to it." Johnny leaned an elbow on the table. "And, most of the professors are pretty cool about it. I think only one or two have even made comments about my sister or brother-in-law." He shrugged, "So, don't stress about it." Johnny flicked the flame of the little Sterno can on the table that had been lit to keep their pizza warm.</p><p>Relief flowed through Peter. He hadn't expected this much understanding and support. He still wasn't comfortable with it though. He grabbed a piece of pizza and took a bite.</p><p>XXXXXXXXXX</p><p>"You know you could have told us who you were." Gwen sat down across from Peter. The Odyssey had filled up a little and Gwen had filtered in after the boys had demolished two extra large pizzas.</p><p>Peter shrugged. "I know but I wanted people to see me and not my dad. Especially here. I mean, he's on a first name basis with most of the professors and has dinner with the dean every couple months."</p><p>Gwen shook her head. "I get the general public but not your friends."</p><p>Peter studied Gwen. Keeping secrets was something he had done for so long now he wasn't sure he knew how not to keep things in their separate compartments even though time and time again his friends were nothing but supportive. Keeping his relationship with Tony secret had been a natural reaction after keeping so many other things secret. "Did you enjoy not being able to leave your apartment? Or being compared to the types of girls my dad used to 'date'?"</p><p>Gwen shrugged. "It was mildly inconvenient and I've been called worse. I was more bothered by the idea that you didn't trust me."</p><p>Peter looked down at his lemonade. Trust was an incredibly complicated thing. Trusting people for him, even if it was just about who his dad was, meant potentially putting their lives at risk. MJ and Ned finding out about Spider-Man had been inevitable. He just spent too much time with them in high school. Plus, thinking back, he wasn't great at keeping secrets back then. He wasn't sure how the entire school hadn't known. Part of him still felt that letting go of the secret of who his dad was meant that Spider-Man's identity wouldn't be too far behind. And he didn't know how he felt about that.</p><p>He had been threatened too many times over the years by the common criminals he fought. Usually they would pop out with 'when I find out who you are, I'll kill you and everyone you care about'. He knew most of them couldn't actually follow through with it, but there were some that could. And that meant limiting the number of people who knew his secrets. He looked up and met Gwen's eyes. "It's not that I don't trust you. I just don't want anyone to get hurt."</p><p>Gwen shook her head and stood up. "How is knowing that your dad is Tony Stark going to hurt me?" She left Peter at the table by himself and walked over to a group currently playing pool. Peter sighed and looked around. For the most part it was familiar faces. A few new ones peppered the crowd. Finishing his lemonade he stood up and walked over to the group. Even though he never played it was fun to watch. Gwen was still the best pool player by far and it looked like she was starting to give everyone a run for their money. Leaning against the wall he watched her drop ball after ball. His dad had asked him if there had been anything there. There probably could be...but MJ.</p><p>He and MJ were in a better place than they were at the beginning of the summer but they were no where near where they had been. He wasn't sure if they'd ever get back to where they had been, but then again, with each passing day, neither one of them was the same person they were in high school.</p><p>"It is too early for you to be that deep inside your head."</p><p>Peter looked over at Bobby who had come over and leaned against the wall next to him. "Sorry."</p><p>"I think Johnny and Wyatt are heading out in a few minutes. I told Gwen I'd let her beat me in a game before we left. Is that ok?" Bobby looked between Gwen and Peter. He knew about MJ and he had a feeling that Gwen had a thing for Peter. And, he suspected that if MJ weren't in the picture again Peter might have a thing for Gwen too.</p><p>"Yeah, that's fine." Peter watched the rest of the current game and then started to watch Gwen and Bobby, until he heard sirens. They were far enough away that he knew no one else around him could hear them. He had told Karen to alert him if there was another fire and felt a gentle buzz on his wrist. Tapping the face of his watch he displayed a map Karen had marked where the position of the current fire. This one looked like another apartment building.</p><p>Bobby stood in front of him. Gwen had solidly defeated him. He was beginning to think that Peter should play her just to give her a little bit of a challenge. He stopped short of mentioning it when he saw the look on Peter's face. "What?"</p><p>"Are you ready to head out?" Peter glanced up, brain already cycling through options.</p><p>"Yeah, what's wrong." Bobby glanced towards the door as the sirens finally came within reach of normal hearing.</p><p>"That's what's wrong. We'll have to drive that way to get home anyway." Peter pulled his keys out of his pocket. He glanced over at Gwen who had just started another game of pool. "Gwen, we're heading out. Maybe see you tomorrow?"</p><p>"Whatever Parker." Gwen glanced up at him over the pool cue and made the shot without checking it.</p><p>Bobby pulled Peter towards the door. Once outside he shook his head. "You know she likes you, right?"</p><p>Peter frowned as he walked towards his car. "What? No, I'm pretty sure I'm her least favorite friend."</p><p>"How did you date MJ as long as you did? You are absolutely clueless." Bobby pulled open the passenger door. Deciding that Peter did not need the extra confusion he switched subjects. "Karen find anything about the fire?"</p><p>Peter started the car. "Yeah, we have to drive that way to get home anyway so we can do some looking on the way." He pulled out onto the street and headed towards the fire. "If this is the same thing, two fires in one day is not good."</p><p>Peter pulled into a parking lot a half a block away from the fire. He wasn't the only one so it didn't look overly suspicious. The fire trucks were blocking the street so the only choice people had were to park and wait or navigate through Cambridge to get to their destination. He could see well enough to see what was going on.</p><p>"What are we looking for?" Bobby asked from the passenger seat. Ever since his mutation had been triggered he had the ability to differentiate heat signatures. The heat the fire put out was almost overpowering but not unexpected after witnessing the one from this afternoon.</p><p>"I have no idea." Peter scanned the building to see if he could detect anyone that was trapped. He already knew that if he had to, he wouldn't think twice about going in after someone. He could deal with the fall out later. Satisfied that the building was empty he started scanning the crowd.</p><p>"Huh."</p><p>Peter turned to look at Bobby. "What?"</p><p>"Someone in the crowd has a heat signature that's way higher than a normal person." Bobby squinted. He could detect the signature but he couldn't actually see who or what it was.</p><p>Peter activated the Iron Spider mask. "Karen, scan thermal signatures."</p><p>"The fire is making it hard to differentiate signatures. Sorry Peter."</p><p>Peter deactivated the mask. "Can you figure out who it is?"</p><p>Bobby shook his head. "No, and it's gone now." He looked over at Peter. "That was weird. It was like someone's entire body was on fire but they weren't."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Slow Burn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter rolled over in bed and looked at his phone. He smiled at the video of Morgan that Pepper had texted him. She had been walking at Christmas but walking was was a term that was being used very loosely. More like stumbling from hand hold to hand hold. But now, she was moving at full speed. The accompanying message also made Peter smile. <em>“I'm about to use your web shooters and web her to the breakfast table."</em></p>
<p>
  <em>”Just don't use the tactical ones! Tell Morgan her brother said to settle down and eat her breakfast."</em>
</p>
<p>Peter rolled over and started to put his phone back on his nightstand and paused. Rolling back over he pulled up a new message.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Hey! Make it back to school yet?"</em>
</p>
<p>He cringed a little and dropped his phone on his nightstand. As a distraction he thought through the events of last night. He and Bobby had stayed near the fire until it had gotten under control. Bobby hadn't spotted the heat signature again. Peter wasn't sure what to do next. Sighing he got up, fought the urge to check his phone, and headed downstairs to find something to eat. He noticed Bobby sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop. Grabbing the cereal, a bowl, and milk he sat down next to him. "What are you working on?"</p>
<p>"I messaged Scott to see if he knew anything about fire mutants." Bobby frowned at his computer.</p>
<p>"Fire mutants?" Peter shoveled a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.</p>
<p>Bobby shrugged. "I don't know what else to call it. He's checking with Professor X to see if he has anyone on his radar that fits the description."</p>
<p>Peter continued eating, thinking through the implications of a mutant being involved. "Doesn't Professor X have a way of locating people with a mutant gene?"</p>
<p>Bobby shook his head. "After your dad reached out he figured out something to detect the Terrigen. Apparently it emits an odd signature that he's able to detect easier than most. He's working on expanding it for other mutant genes but it's not 100% reliable yet. The data set just isn't big enough. I mean my mutation is from latent terrigen but it's genetic. Your mutations were caused by some weird serum and a type of gamma radiation. The Hulk's mutation was due to gamma exposure but not the same type as yours. Scott's mutation is genetic but not tied to terrigen. It's kinda hard to nail them all down."</p>
<p>Peter grinned. "So what you're saying is that there's probably more mutants and enhanced individuals out there than anyone realizes."</p>
<p>Bobby nodded. "Exactly. What I saw last night was not a run of the mill person. What I can't figure out is if they always put off that much of a heat signature and I just lost them or if they can turn it off." He looked over at Peter. "Either way I think it's like looking for a needle in a haystack." He sat back in his chair. "Oh, Wyatt texted and asked if we wanted to come over to their place. Something about 'classes start in a couple days and they want to grill out'"</p>
<p>"Wyatt does realize it's January in Boston, right?"</p>
<p>Bobby shrugged. "I think Johnny has spent too much time in California. So do you want to go? They said head over around 2pm."</p>
<p>"Sure. They're in the same apartment they were in before, right?" Peter finished his cereal and took the bowl to the dishwasher.</p>
<p>"Yeah. We passed it last night on our way back." Bobby stood up. "Want to go spar? Jean and Scott were both pretty impressed at how much better I had gotten."</p>
<p>Peter smiled and nodded. Sparing with Bobby was actually kind of fun. He still absolutely hated to hit anything with his fist but Bobby was almost indestructible in his ice form so it took some of the worry out of training. Even when he sparred with Natasha, who could dodge anything he did, or Steve, who could take anything he did, he was still worried about accidentally hurting them. With Bobby he could actually fight. Plus, it made him feel good to be able to help Bobby improve his physical abilities.</p>
<p>XXXXXXXXXX</p>
<p>Peter shook his curls our after running a towel over his head. He and Bobby had spent more time in the gym than they had intended and now they were having to rush. Throwing on jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie he fastened his watch on his wrist, freezing when he saw '1 new message' from a couple hours ago. Grabbing his phone he pulled up the message from MJ.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Got here this afternoon. Classes start in a couple days. I'm glad we're talking again."</em>
</p>
<p>He stared at his phone. How in the hell was he supposed to respond to that? Chewing on his bottom lip, he debated and finally settled on <em> "Me too." </em> He threw his phone down in frustration. He probably should have said more but he wasn't sure what. Shoving it in another compartment of his brain he finished getting ready.</p>
<p>Finished in record time, he grabbed his phone off the bed, and ran down the stairs, meeting Bobby by the garage. Wyatt and Johnny's apartment was only ten minutes away and thankfully there hadn't been any additional fires today contributing to traffic.</p>
<p>Wyatt pulled the door open after one knock. "Come on in guys." Pulling the door shut behind them he gestured for them to head towards the living room. For an apartment it wasn't too terribly cramped although it did make Peter incredibly thankful his dad had insisted on a house.</p>
<p>"Wyatt, I'm just curious how you're planning to grill in 30 degree weather." Peter slid out of his jacket. Cold was still an issue. He had tried to figure out how to put the same heater in his clothes that was in his Spider-Man suit but finally gave up on it. It just wasn't practical. Which meant he dressed in layers...lots of layers.</p>
<p>Wyatt just shrugged. "Johnny has it worked out. He really wanted steaks so we thought we invite the two of you."</p>
<p>Johnny came down the hallway. "Yeah, we thought a change of pace from the Odyssey might be good. Sue got onto us over the break for having a diet of only bar food so we told her we'd try to eat actual food at least once a week."</p>
<p>Peter laughed. "Yeah, so far I've been able to hide that fact from Pepper. She would fully support eating actual food."</p>
<p>The four boys fell into comfortable conversation about what they did over Winter Break, although Peter's was highly edited to leave out the weekend with the Avengers. They morphed into upcoming classes. They had strategically tried to schedule a couple classes together after finding out they actually studied well together.</p>
<p>"Hey, did you all see that fire last night on the way home?" Wyatt had pulled out a box of dominoes after figuring out that all of them had played before.</p>
<p>"Yeah, it looked bad. Second one of the day. Bobby got stuck in traffic earlier because of another one." Peter paused and didn't launch into his theory that it was arson or the fact that he and Bobby hadn't just seen the fire but had staked it out as well. And he certainly didn't mention the fire mutant.</p>
<p>Johnny dumped the dominoes out and started flipping them over. "Yeah, space heaters and bad heating systems are always a problem this time of year."</p>
<p>XXXXXXXXXX</p>
<p>Dominoes was an addictive game. Peter had played before at the compound. Playing with the Avengers was a little cutthroat at times. Playing with Wyatt, Johnny, and Bobby was no less competitive. They were several rounds in when Johnny announced that he was going to start the grill and give it a chance to heat up. They all took the opportunity to refill drinks. On his way back from the kitchen, Peter looked out on the deck where the grill was. They actually had a pretty good view of the river. Peter had to get on the roof of the house to actually see anything. Behind high up was something he really missed. So far he hadn't found anywhere in Boston he could access without being seen. He watched Johnny play with the lighter on the charcoals, flames bursting high then settling into a low burn.</p>
<p>XXXXXXXXXX</p>
<p>Dinner and dominoes was a lot of fun. It was fairly late when Peter and Bobby headed home. Peter was glad Wyatt had texted them earlier. They could all see it becoming a normal Sunday night thing. Classes were starting Wednesday but they didn't have a lot to do other than make sure they had their books. Which gave Peter and Bobby some extra time to devote to investigating the fires. Karen hacked into the police and fire department files and discovered that both departments were convinced that it was the work of an arsonist but they hadn't figured out how they were doing it. Peter and Bobby thought the fire mutant probably had the ability to set fires without the need of any kind of lighter fluid. The problem was, they hadn't been able to detect the heat signature again and that left them with not knowing what their next step should be.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Fighting Fire With Fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Classes started and Peter and Bobby were no closer to finding a suspect. Scott had gotten back to them to let them know that Professor X did have a record of a mutant that matched the description and may or may not be going by the name Firebrand. It was really more of a rumor of a possibility and not much to go on. Another fire had broken out the night before classes started a few blocks from Johnny and Wyatt's apartment. Unfortunately, Peter and Bobby were on campus at the time and couldn't make it back before the fire had been put out and there was no sign of their mysterious mutant.</p>
<p>It wasn't until Friday that everyone's schedules let them make it out to the Odyssey. Peter and his group were considered fixtures at this point, with their own table. No one dared try to take Gwen's pool table so they were back in the comfortable rhythm of eating and watching each other get destroyed at pool by Gwen.</p>
<p>"Hey, isn't that one of the boys from Biology?" Peter nudged Wyatt towards the direction of the door.</p>
<p>"Yeah...David, Davis? Something like that. He's Australian." Wyatt and Peter raised their hands and waved him over.</p>
<p>"Aren't you in our Bio class?" Peter asked as the boy made it over to their table.</p>
<p>"Yeah. Davis Cameron."</p>
<p>Wyatt pushed a chair out with his foot. "Have a seat. This is Peter and I'm Wyatt." He glanced around, "The two getting beat at pool by the blond are Johnny and Bobby. And, the blond, that's Gwen."</p>
<p>Davis sat down. "She was in one of my classes last semester. I'm not surprised she's good at pool too."</p>
<p>Peter leaned back in his chair. "Australian?"</p>
<p>David nodded and took a sip of his drink. "I came over at the beginning of last semester."</p>
<p>"That's a long way from home. What made you decide to come?" Peter was genuinely curious. He couldn't imagine being that far from his family.</p>
<p>Davis shrugged. "I got in." He added a smile. "And it was a long way from home."</p>
<p>Wyatt laughed. "I get it. I'm from Oklahoma...not quite as far but far enough. Peter's only four hours from home so he doesn't get it."</p>
<p>Davis nodded and took another sip. "Gwen mentioned this place a couple times last year. Thought I'd break down and check it out."</p>
<p>Peter grinned. "We like it." Peter took a bite of pizza and offered a slice to Davis. "So what other classes do you have?"</p>
<p>Gwen and Bobby worked their way over to the table and sat down on the tail end of the schedule comparison between Davis, Wyatt, and Peter. They actually had a couple labs together as well. Wyatt looked over at Gwen. "What did you do with Johnny?"</p>
<p>She nodded her head towards a group. "He's flirting with some redhead." The comment caused almost all of them to roll their eyes. And none of them missed the fact that he left with her thirty minutes later. Wyatt looked over at Peter and Bobby, "So you're giving me a ride home, right."</p>
<p>XXXXXXXXXX</p>
<p>Peter pulled out of his parking space into traffic and made his way in the direction of Wyatt and Johnny's apartment. His Spidey sense started tingling as soon as he turned down the street their apartment was on.</p>
<p>"Is that smoke?" Bobby peered out the window, dread settling in his stomach.</p>
<p>Peter pulled over far enough back and parked. He got out and headed toward the apartment building. Wyatt and Johnny's apartment building. He realized when he reached the entrance that Bobby and Wyatt were both behind him. Wyatt was on his cell with 911 reporting the fire. Peter pulled open the door and started looking for a fire extinguisher and alarm. Finding it he pulled the alarm and smashed the glass, yanking the extinguisher free. "Wyatt, start banging on doors." He handed the extinguisher to Wyatt and turned to start up the stairs but paused long enough to toss his keys to as well. "Just work on getting everyone out. We'll check the upper floors."</p>
<p>Bobby followed Peter up the stairs, willing to follow his lead. People were starting to respond to the alarm and were filling the halls and stairwells. Bobby followed Peter through the flow of panicked bodies up another floor. They both knew there were a total of six floors in the building because they had been on the top floor less than a week ago. The smoke started getting thicker as they approached the 4th floor. Peter looked around to make sure he was clear and triggered the Iron Spider suit. The mask started filtering the smoke making it easier to breath. He saw Bobby was in his ice form as well. He just hoped they didn't terrify anyone running from the fire. "Karen, scan to see if there's anyone still on this floor."</p>
<p>"Scan negative. Peter, as the heat of the fire intensifies my scans will become less efficient."</p>
<p>"I know, just keep scanning and let me know when I need to take over." He glanced back at Bobby who was starting to work on the flames that were licking down the wall. "Up". He started up the stairs, Bobby behind him.</p>
<p>"Peter, scans are picking up a heat signature on the 5th floor. No additional signs. My scanners are starting to be less reliant though."</p>
<p>Peter tensed and bolted up the stairs. Alighting at the top he saw a figure, a figure he recognized, at the end of the hall, flames streaming off the walls onto his arms.</p>
<p>"Johnny, stop! What are you doing?" Peter covered the distance between himself and Johnny and spun him around. "Why would you do this?"</p>
<p>Johnny tilted his head and looked at Spider-Man, recognizing the voice. "Peter? What the hell?" He looked down the hall at Bobby. "Bobby?"</p>
<p>Bobby reaches the duo, firing streams of water at the flames as he went. He could definitely manipulate ice better but ultimately it was all water. The problem was, the fire was eating up a lot of the oxygen which meant there wasn't enough to actually pull much water out. "Johnny, what the hell are you doing?"</p>
<p>Johnny looked between the two and he realized what they both meant. "How could you possibly think I was the arsonist?" Johnny asked incredulously.</p>
<p>"Because you're always playing with matches and lighters. And now this...". Peter fired back, gesturing at the flames on his arms.</p>
<p>"Because I'm the Human Torch. I'm literally fire. I'm trying to stop it!" Johnny stood in front of Peter, flames flickering off his arms.</p>
<p>"Well that makes a whole lot more sense now. But I didn't know that did I?" Peter ducked as a piece of debris fell from the ceiling.</p>
<p>"Well, you do now...Spider-Man." Johnny said pointedly as he pulled a stream of fire away from Peter and Bobby.</p>
<p>"Can we talk about our alter egos after we get out of here?" Bobby was doing his best to pull enough water out of the air to combat the fire but it was being consumed rapidly. "Do you think everyone's out? I'm not sure we're doing much good."</p>
<p>Peter tilted his head to listen for sounds other than the cracking of wood. "I don't hear anyone else but I'd feel better if I checked upstairs first." Knowing that Bobby was going to quickly lose his ice form if he stayed in the fire much longer he added, "Head back down to Wyatt and make sure he got everyone out." Peter darted towards the tumbling stairs. He was startled to see Johnny flying next to him. "Ok, that's pretty cool." Peter landed in the hallway on the top floor. He paused long enough to focus. "Hang on, I hear something." He could hear a faint heartbeat. Following the sound he yanked a door off its hinges, smoke billowing around him.</p>
<p>Johnny stood behind him, coercing the flames to create a path Peter could travel through. Peter followed the heartbeat until he found an unconscious girl on the floor in the bathroom. Scooping her up he turned to head out, noting that Johnny was pulling flames away from him. "Go. Make sure Bobby and Wyatt got out. I'll take her out the window."</p>
<p>They could both hear sirens coming from outside now and knew fire and police would be on the street. Johnny hesitated at the door. "They'll see you."</p>
<p>"I'll figure it out. Just make sure Bobby and Wyatt are ok. Head to our house. I'll meet you there." Peter waited until he was sure Johnny was leaving and kicked the remains of a window out and scoped out his options to secure a web. Finding a high spot he flung a web and propelled himself out of the burning building holding the girl securely at his side. He landed a short distance from the first ambulance he saw.</p>
<p>"Hey, you're Spider-Man!" One of the paramedics rushed towards him to help him with the girl.</p>
<p>"Yeah. Visiting a friend for the weekend. Thought I'd give you a hand. The top two floors are clear." He truly wasn't sure about the rest of them. He had hoped Wyatt had been able to get everyone else out. Several police and firefighters made their way over. Peter didn't want to risk any kind of confrontation so he flung a web and pulled himself up. "Take care of her and be careful!" He swung his way down the street and headed for the closest roof he thought he could land on unseen.</p>
<p>Crouched on the roof he could still see the fire but it looked like they were getting it under control. "Karen, scan for heat signatures, wide scan." He had tweaked her scanning abilities after she hadn't been able to pick up the same signature Bobby had and thought he had it pretty well dialed in. A figured appeared on the outskirts of his HUD, seconds away from being out of range.</p>
<p>"Peter, there is no path you can take that would allow you to intercept."</p>
<p>Peter sighed. "I know. Run a search of the area and see if anything jumps out. And, do I have any options to actually swing home or am I stuck walking?" A path illuminated on his HUD that got him within about a block of the house. It was better than nothing. "Get a status update from Bobby and can you turn up my heater?"</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. In The Line Of Fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Dad, I'm fine." Peter paused then added, "Your fine, not my fine."</p>
<p>"Pete, it's in the 20's and you're out of the suit." Tony scrubbed his hand over his face as he reviewed the data from the Iron Spider.</p>
<p>"I'm literally a half a block from the house. Can you check media reports and scrub everything you can on both Miles and me from tonight?" Peter didn't think anyone had taken a picture of him but he didn't want to expose either of them. The only way he knew to do that was to erase everything so neither one of them showed up anywhere.</p>
<p>"FRIDAY's already working on it." Tony had the news reports from the fire pulled up. Multiple reports mentioned the possibility of arson. "You want to tell me if your going into the fire was just you being Spider-Man and helping people or if you were actually looking for the arsonist."</p>
<p>Peter grimaced. "Both." Since his dad now knew about it, he might as well get a little help. "If I send you some information do you think FRIDAY can do a little digging?" He didn't want to mention that it was a mutant involved out in the open.</p>
<p>"Karen isn't helping?" Karen had the horsepower to do most research, if Peter was asking for FRIDAY's help, Tony wondered if Karen's systems were malfunctioning.</p>
<p>"It's outside her expertise. You'll understand when I send it to you." It was frustrating not being able to just tell his dad what was going on but he didn't have a option right now. "Dad, I'll call you in the morning. I'm 10 steps from the front door."</p>
<p>Tony growled. "Fine. Call me in the morning. I love you Pete."</p>
<p>"Love you too dad." Peter disconnected the call and pushed the front door open. Bobby, Johnny, and Wyatt were on the sofas in the living room. Shutting the front door behind him he took a deep breath. "Hey guys."</p>
<p>Johnny stood up. "Spider-Man." His tone eased a little. "Did you get her out ok?"</p>
<p>Peter nodded. "So the Human Torch? How do you not burn everything down?"</p>
<p>Johnny sighed and lit himself up. "I can control what it does." Johnny shrugged, "Doesn't mean I haven't had the occasional mishaps."</p>
<p>Wyatt sighed. "Mishaps as in set the curtains on fire...which is why we don't have any...well, didn't. I guess everything is ash now."</p>
<p>"We have extra bedrooms. Consider yourselves our new roommates." Peter glanced over at Johnny again who had retaken his normal form. "Assuming you want to."</p>
<p>Wyatt stood up. "I told Johnny that being mad because you thought he was the arsonist was ridiculous. He'll get over it. So, yes, we would very much appreciate a place to stay." He looked at Peter. "Bobby already showed us his ice form and everyone else has seen the suit...my turn."</p>
<p>Peter sighed and triggered the Iron Spider.</p>
<p>"Cool. Is it nanotechnology like Iron Man's?" Wyatt studied the suit, marveling at the technology.</p>
<p>Peter nodded and retracted the suit. "I have other suits but once we fixed the flexibility in this one, it's way more convenient."</p>
<p>Johnny crossed his arms and looked at Peter. "So are all of the abilities from technology?"</p>
<p>Peter sighed again, hoping the line of questioning wasn't headed back to asking if he laid eggs. He flipped, landed on the wall, crawled up to the ceiling and walked across it. "No." Tucking he flipped back to the ground and landed in front of Johnny. "I'm sorry I thought you were the arsonist."</p>
<p>"Apology accepted." Johnny smiled. "And, that's pretty cool."</p>
<p>The four spent the next several hours discussing their abilities as well as their theories on the arsonist. It was almost 3am before they were attempting to get Johnny and Wyatt settled in the extra bedrooms. Everyone but Peter was resigned to the idea of sleeping most of the next day. Peter was up and on the phone with Tony by 8am.</p>
<p>"Did you get the data I sent last night?" Peter was standing downstairs in the kitchen pouring a bowl of cereal.</p>
<p>"Yeah, Charles gave me access to his information so I had FRIDAY do a little more digging. Firebrand is a female. No name that we've found so far. I'm sending some pictures your way. In addition to what Charles had, FRIDAY pulled traffic and security camera. She's in Boston." Tony hadn't gone to bed yet. He had been up since he had talked to Peter last night. It had been a while since he had pulled an all nighter. He now felt every year of his age.</p>
<p>Peter swallowed his cereal. "Any idea why she's doing it?"</p>
<p>"None." Tony took a sip of his coffee. "I'm also sending you everything Charles has on how to potentially fight an elemental which is what he thinks this is." Tony paused, "You know, I could come down there for a couple days..."</p>
<p>"Dad, it's under control. I will call for help if I need it. I don't think I do though." As much as Peter missed seeing his dad every day, he knew the offer wasn't from Tony...it was from Iron Man. Neither Iron Man nor Tony knew how operate under the radar and Iron Man tended to be a little loud...and destructive. Neither would contribute to keeping Spider-Man out of the news. "If you come across anything else let me know."</p>
<p>Tony sighed. He knew that was going to be Peter's answer when he offered. And, he knew Peter could probably handle it by himself. And, somewhere deep down Tony knew he had to let Peter handle it by himself. He just didn't like it. "Ok. I want updates though."</p>
<p>”Ok. Give Morgan a hug for me. Love you dad." Peter hung up and reviewed the information his dad had sent. He could talk to Johnny about ideas to combat a fire mutant. An elemental was what Professor Xavier was calling it. Either way, fire burned through his current webbing so he started working through formula ideas to make the webbing fire resistant. Which is what the three other boys found him doing five hours later.</p>
<p>"How long have you been up?" Wyatt asked incredulously, looking at the scraps of paper scattered on the table.</p>
<p>Peter didn't look up from his notebook. He thought he was maybe 75% there on a formula. He just needed to start testing it. "A little before 8am." He glanced up and shrugged, "Spiders don't need as much sleep."</p>
<p>Johnny just shook his head. "So what does a Spider accomplish in five hours."</p>
<p>Peter flipped the hologram up on his tablet. "Here's our arsonist. Professor X is calling her an elemental." He looked over at Johnny, "You're going to need to make some educated guesses on ability as well as how to stop her."</p>
<p>Johnny sat down next to Peter and started reading through the information. Once finished he shrugged, "A lot of it is correct. Some isn't." He glanced around at the group around him. To tell them how to defeat her he'd essentially have to tell them how to defeat him. He looked down at Peter's papers and recognized enough of it to realize Peter was working on fire resistant webbing. He gestured to the papers. "That's a start. Containment is going to be hard."</p>
<p>Peter studied Johnny. He was guessing that his hesitance was due to trust which he understood. "Ok, we can keep working on it. Meanwhile, we can order food and Bobby and I can show you the rest of the house."</p>
<p>Orders placed, they walked them down the gym which really was the entire back section of the house. The house itself was three stories and originally contained a couple rooms on all three floors that were no longer there. Instead, Tony had created a gym area tall enough that Peter could swing at least a little. It was also full of equipment that was Peter-proof...meaning the equipment could withstand Peter at full strength and speed. Johnny's and Wyatt's jaws dropped when Peter pushed open the doors. Peter just shrugged. "I'm used to swinging every day. I had to have a way to burn off some energy if I can't go out as Spider-Man."</p>
<p>Bobby smiled at the two the were still gaping at the room. "And I get the benefit of the fact that he's trained with Black Widow and Captain America."</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>Instead of Sunday dinner at Wyatt's and Johnny's, it was now Sunday dinner at the house. The week started without incident and FRIDAY and Karen had continued to feed them information on when and where their target was spotted via surveillance cameras. The nice thing about being so close to campus was that there were cameras everywhere.</p>
<p>Wyatt had plotted all of the fires on a map. They were in all contained within eight square blocks. There wasn't really a pattern other than the cluster. Peter had alerts set up to go to his watch in the event that a surveillance camera picked up their target or a fire broke out. So far they had always been too far away when she had been spotted.</p>
<p>Wednesday, they made it into the Odyssey joined by Gwen, Davis, and a couple others from school. Peter had been able to test his web fluid in Chem lab and while he didn't think it was 100%, he thought it would work. They were a couple hours into the night when Peter's watch buzzed. They had all been with him when it had gone off previously so they all knew what it meant. He glanced down at it, hoping not to draw attention to it and saw the map pinpoint an area less than a block away. He glanced up at Bobby, Johnny, and Wyatt before standing up. Making his way towards the back he hoped that Davis and Gwen assumed he was just going to the restroom. Ducking through the back door he triggered the Iron Spider suit and scampered up the wall. Landing on the roof he didn't overlook the fact that Johnny landed next to him, glowing a subdued fiery orange.</p>
<p>"It's as covert as I can get."</p>
<p>Peter shook his head. "Gwen and Davis are going to be suspicious."</p>
<p>Johnny shook his head. "Wyatt challenged Gwen to a game. Have Karen text him if we need him. Bobby is going to meet us once we figure out where we're going."</p>
<p>Peter rolled his eyes and was glad he was covered by the Iron Spider. Having team mates now was a little different than having Avengers as your team. He hadn't really thought that through until now. Shoving it into another part of his brain, he started scanning for a heat signature. "Flame off for a minute. You're messing with the sensors." Shove that one into the fix it later box. The fiery glow diminished next to him. A few moments later he saw a heat signature. "Got her." At least he hoped it was her and not a third fire mutant. At this point nothing would surprise him. Maybe Davis or Gwen had powers.</p>
<p>Karen plotted an intercept path for himself and Johnny, minimizing the chance that a casual bystander might accidentally see them. He had Karen text Bobby the location knowing he could meet them on the ground. He could form ice waves and travel faster but it was hardly covert.</p>
<p>A few minutes later they were standing in an alley. Peter quietly pulled open the door and entered, flanked by the Human Torch and Iceman. "Karen, scan building."</p>
<p>This building only had two floors so it was easy to pinpoint their target. She had started lighting up boxes in the storage room in the back. Fire was licking off her fingers onto the cardboard, instantly lighting them on fire. They hadn't entirely known what to expect so they had multiple options for plans. Peter fires taser webs hoping they would shut her down quickly. They didn't. The energy was absorbed by her skin and in turn increased the flame coming off her fingers. "Ok, so no tasers."</p>
<p>Firebrand turned to face the trio. Her eyes glowed a soft reddish orange, black hair whipping away from her face. She let lose a blast a fire toward the group which Johnny effortlessly absorbed and allowed Bobby to douse her with a barrage of ice that doused the fire briefly but then turned to steam as she lit her arms back up. It was enough of a distraction for Peter to fire off a round of fire resistant webs. They impeded her but not enough. Instead of continuing the fight she pushed through the boxes and ran through the front of the building, crashing through the glass and onto the street. She had lit enough on fire that Bobby stayed to douse the flames while Peter and Johnny followed. When they made it to the front of the building Peter could see her heat signature fading as she ran, blending in with the innocent bystanders. He put a hand out to stop Johnny from following.  "We lost her and there too many people out there. Out the back." The two retreated and met up with Bobby who was putting out the last of the flames. "Karen, verify there aren't any recording devices." They could evaluate the op and analyze what they could do differently back at the house.</p>
<p>"You're clear Peter."</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>Firebrand made her way into the abandoned warehouse she had called home the last couple weeks. She hadn't expected three of them. Their combined power could have taken her down. Running had been her only option. She slid off her jacket and threw it over the back of a chair. She wasn't surprised to see him sitting on the makeshift sofa...waiting for her. "You didn't tell me there were three of them."</p>
<p>"The Spider has friends. Your failure earned us a valuable piece of information."</p>
<p>She watched him stand up. He never stayed long. Just long enough to provide targets or information.</p>
<p>"You need to stand down." He issued the order in a tone that he knew she could not mistake.</p>
<p>"No!" She protested. She could do this. She was worthy. She had to be.</p>
<p>"Stand down until you hear from me. You'll have your chance. I promise."</p>
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